I stopped at an op shop on my way home today hoping to find some
treasure – a piece of beautiful English china, maybe a gorgeous tea cup or two.
Right before my eyes there were a few very pretty tea cups but as I approached
and lifted one to take a closer look another woman came out of nowhere, reached
in front of me and crudely snatched up every piece of china on the table, “how
rude” I thought but said nothing. I
returned the cup in my hand to the table and turned to see the large stack of
china she had already placed on the counter to purchase. To my dismay there was a gorgeous piece on
the top of her pile that I wish I’d seen first, it was a genuine, vintage piece
that matched a set that I own at home, unlike the cup that I had returned to table,
it was precious, had value and was not common.
As the woman paid for her purchases she remarked to the lady behind the
counter that they were all going to be used for a mosaic. I shook my head in disbelief, this beautiful
and sought after English china was going to be smashed to pieces along with the
other cheap imitations that she had found.
Later it struck me that a similar scenario plays out in front of me on a
regular basis, except this treasure is the most precious of all and has
immeasurable value. This treasure is so
often overlooked by those who don’t recognise the difference between a valuable,
genuine article and a cheap imitation, they fail to see the precious treasure
they hold in their hands and are quite happy to use it for temporary pleasure
whilst sacrificing its everlasting value. This treasure is the gift of eternal
life with the one true and living God. We
have been born into sin, are eternally lost and are in desperate need a Saviour
in order to redeem us from our sin, for no matter how good we are by the
world’s standards, our righteousness is as filthy rags in God’s sight.
We have been offered the most
valuable treasure of all, the opportunity of allowing Jesus Christ to become the
Lord of our lives. He has laid down His life for us, paying the ransom for our
sin, and yet so many of us decline His invitation, or worse yet, we accept and treat
His gift carelessly, believing that all is well but in reality we are chipping
away at that most precious of gifts. It
is not enough to say ‘the sinner’s prayer’ and continue to live as we please. We cannot purchase our salvation through the
good things we do, for they will never be good enough, it is a gift that cannot
be bought. However, when we accept this gift of salvation we must surrender our
lives to Him, our life has been bought at a price, “For I through the law am
dead to the law, that I might live in God.
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ
liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of
the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” Galatians 2:20.
We must live in obedience to
Him for “Many will say to me
in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name
have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works? And
then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work
iniquity. Therefore whosoever heareth
these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which
built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the
floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for
it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these
sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which
built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the
floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and
great was the fall of it.” Matthew
7:22-27
Jesus must be our
Lord, not just our Saviour, in fact He cannot be our Saviour unless He is first
our Lord, His kingdom is not a democracy, He is the King of Kings and the Lord
of Lords. Whilst we must demonstrate the
gifts of the Holy Spirit, play an active and passionate role in His body - the
church, we must deny ourselves daily, seek Him in prayer and live in obedience
to Him, or we will be like the woman in the op shop who doesn’t understand the
value of the treasure she holds in her hands and takes to it with a hammer for
a few pieces of broken china, sacrificing the treasure we have been offered.
